Heat recovery

with AERZEN turbos, blowers

and compressors
Reduce costs for compressed air generation
 Reduce costs for compressed
air generation – Benefit from
savings potentials.
Dwindling resources, stringent environmental regulations, rising energy costs – there is a consensus
across all sectors that more efficient energy utilisation is both sensible and necessary. Measures
for saving energy are especially practical in the generation of compressed air, since expenses for
­energy are the biggest portion of the life cycle costs. With relatively simple and calculable measures
you can recover a large part of the electrical energy used for the generation of compressed air while
­increasing the overall efficiency of your compressed air generation system.

Compressed air with reduced energy. An all-round perfect solution.

For thermodynamic reasons, compressed air generation AERZEN offers intelligent heat recovery systems that will
­always involves waste heat, since the electrical energy for the ­allow you to use this energy, for example in heat-led produc-
operating energy input is converted to heat. In many cases tion processes, water heaters or heating systems. Compressed
this heat is simply lost and not used. It is discharged by means air systems with long life cycles are especially suitable for this
of exhaust ducts or fans, or it dissipates through distribution purpose.
of the compressed air, while the heating system next door is By recovering the heat generated in the compression process
­generating heat. That is incomprehensible in view of the issues you can save energy and significantly boost the competitive-
of global warming and reduction of the CO2 footprint. ness of your plant. Only enterprises that manage all of their
resources intelligently and ecologically can be assured of
­achieving long-term success and a competitive edge.

Energy balance of a typical dry-running 85 % recoverable energy

single stage screw compressor.

Discharge-side gas flow

5 % heat radiation

Motor
5 % waste heat from drive motor

5 % mechanically generated waste heat

5 % heat radiation

Compressor stage
5 % motor losses

5 % mechanical losses

Oil cooler
Acoustic hood fan

100 %
total electrical
power requirement
85 % usable energy for recovery

2
Criteria for the use of energy from compressed air.
In order for heat recovery to be cost effective, the processes must be well coordinated and the cooling water discharge tempera-
ture needed for the process must be reached. Examples for use of cooling water from heat exchangers or waste heat: sludge
drying 40 to 50 °C, pre-heating of hot water and supply air 30 to 50 °C, hot water forward flow 40 to 60 °C, building heat forward
flow 60 to 85 °C.

Usable temperature level. Synchronisation of operating times.

∆T between waste heat source and heat sink (consumer) Exact synchronisation of the operating times of the heat
should be at least 5 to 10 K – the higher the better. ­source and heat sink ensures more efficient use of the
­waste heat. If supply and demand are not completely
Heat quantity and heat output. ­synchronous, a heat accumulator could be a good solution.
The recovered energy must be suitable for the process in
use, to eliminate the need for additional heat generators Operating hours and service life.
during peak demand. Full system utilisation will achieve the maximum
­economic benefit.
Continuity of use.
Heat recovery can also be worthwhile in systems with low Investment costs.
waste heat if they achieve a high utilisation of capacities. The investment costs are directly affected by factors
such as transport and storage of the heat.
Physical proximity.
The waste heat source and heat sink should be as close Reliability of supply.
to each other as possible, in order to minimise transport If a sensitive process uses only waste heat, it may be
losses and costs. ­necessary to provide a backup heat generation system
in the event of a failure of the waste heat source.

Methods of heat recovery. used to regulate the room temperature. The waste heat
Air-cooled blowers, turbos or compressors with an acous- from the discharge-side gas flow itself has even more
tic hood are ideal for using exhaust air for room heating. ­potential for heat recovery. It contains up to the 85 % of
For this purpose the exhaust air louvre of the AERZEN the electrical energy in the form of heat. This energy can
unit is equipped with an exhaust duct. This allows use of be recovered by means of a compact heat exchanger, which
the cooling air for the compressor stage, the silencer and is installed in the piping downstream of the ­compressor
the pipe system under the acoustic hood, and the exhaust (on the discharge side).
air from the oil cooler can be used for room heating. The
waste heat, at a temperature of 30 to 60 °C, is bundled via
the exhaust duct and can then be supplied via air ducts for Energy costs
Service and maintenance
Life cycle: 10 years
Book value: 15 % of acquisition value
heating of the rooms. Temperature-controlled flaps are Investment Energy costs: 0.20 € / kWh
Heat recovery via heat exchanger
Heat recovery via waste heat
1.400

1.200
Thousand €

1.000

800

600

400

200

2.000 4.000 8.000 2.000 4.000 8.000 2.000 4.000 8.000 2.000 4.000 8.000
Positive displacement blower GM35S Rotary lobe compressor D62H Turbo blower TB100-1.0S Screw-type compressor VM 45G5-E

Type reference & life cycles (operating hours)

Examples for heat recovery • Creating airlocks • Service water for restaurants
• Sludge drying • Pre-heating of burner air and large kitchens
• Hot water for showers and lavatories • Room heating • Cleaning water for food processing
• Supplying central heating systems • Paint shops
• Warm-air heating of operational • Electroplating
­premises • Drying of workpieces
• Warm air for drying processes • Heating of swimming pools

3
 Areas of application
for AERZEN machines.
Pneumatic conveying systems. A heat exchanger and, if necessary, a condensate trap is
Pneumatic conveying applications generally use displace- installed downstream of the compressor, Delta Hybrid or
­
ment machines such as blowers, rotary lobe compressors ­blower. Although these components create additional p­ ressure
(Delta ­Hybrid) and screw-type compressors. The maximum air losses, this is negligible compared to the energy that can be
­discharge temperature of a screw compressor can be as high recovered.
as 280 °C. For use in the process, the air must often be cooled
down to below 50 °C. Heat recovery systems in pneumatic conveying applications
are generally designed for a low gas discharge temperature
with optimal heat transfer.

Heating + Hot water +

Bin Process heat ARS 250 Case 1 Case 2 Case 3
Intake volume flow in Nm³/h 2584 2584 2584
Rotary Cooler intake temperature in °C 220 220 220
valve 15 °C 39 °C
• 3474 mbar Pressure loss in cooler in mbar 26 26 26
• 2584 Nm3/h Energy required for compensation 0.7 0.7 0.7
Heat exchanger of pressure loss in cooler in kW
29 °C ARS 250
Exchanged Cooling water flow in m³/h 3 5 7
open heat quantity Cooling water intake temperature in °C 25 25 15
closed 193 kW
Gas discharge temperature in °C 44 55 39
Cooling water discharge temperature in °C 75 39 29
• 20 °C • 3500 mbar
• 2584 Nm3/h • 220 °C Exchanged heat quantity in kW 171 175 193
Total power required at the coupling in kW 198 198 198
Recovered energy in % 86 88 97
Compressor station
Case 1: hot water > 70 °C
Case 2: increased cooling water flow
Case 3: increased cooling water flow and transferred heat quantity optimised

4
Wastewater treatment. By using a heat exchanger with a low differential pressure
In wastewater treatment plants, blowers, Delta Hybrid com- (<  30  mbar) the blower station consumes only slightly more
pressors and turbos are used that reach maximum air ­discharge energy (< 2 % of the operating energy input). The energy saved,
temperatures of 140 °C. A condensate trap is not necessary. on the other hand, is many times higher than the a­ dditional
Wastewater treatment plants are the facilities in cities and ­input power required.
municipalities that use the most electricity. Therefore, due to
widespread uncertainty concerning the future global e­ nergy Heat recovery systems for wastewater treatment plants, e.g.
matrix and the resulting energy market price, there is an for optimal support of sludge drying, are generally designed
­urgent need to increase energy efficiency. to generate the return flow of cooling water from the heat
­exchanger at > 70 °C and maximum heat transfer.

Activated sludge tank

ARN 550 Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Heating + Hot water + Sludge drying
Intake volume flow in Nm³/h 9222 9222 9222
• 779 mbar
Cooler intake temperature in °C 96 96 96 • 9222 Nm3/h 45 °C 73 °C
Pressure loss in cooler in mbar 21 21 20 • 62 °C

Energy required for compensation of 6.6 6.6 6.6 Heat exchanger

pressure loss in cooler in kW ARN 550
Cooling water flow in m³/h 3.6 8 8 open Exchanged
closed heat quantity • 800 mbar
Cooling water intake temperature in °C 45 45 25 115 kW • 96 °C
Cooling water discharge temperature in °C 73 59 48
Exchanged heat quantity in kW 115 132 183
Total power required at the coupling in kW 282 282 282
Recovered energy in % 41 47 64 • 20 °C
• 9222 Nm3/h

Case 1: hot water > 70 °C

Case 2: increased cooling water flow Blower station
Case 3: increased cooling water flow and transferred heat quantity optimised

5
 ADVANTAGES AND BENEFITS of
the AERZEN aftercooler.
High Point-to-point Large
energy savings design functional range

Inexpensive compressed Design of the heat exchanger Water/air aftercoolers are

air ­generation as a result of for maximum heat transfer and also available for high intake
­efficient heat recovery. minimum pressure loss. temperatures up to 280 °C and
in stainless steel.

Retrofitting is High Broad scope

readily achievable flexibility of application

Older compressed air systems Due to the use of an external There are many possible
can also be optimised for heat exchanger, a choice of ­applications for the use of
­energy recovery. ­different sizes is possible. ­recovered energy.

Low Everything from Add-ons

investment costs a single source and accessories

The favourable ratio between Service and maintenance are Stainless steel aftercoolers and
the costs and the amount provided entirely by highly compatible condensate traps.
of recovered energy allows ­competent AERZEN personnel.
fast ­amortisation.

Load duration curve and partial load.

A load duration curve can be used to estimate the 110 %
percentage of required heat that can be achieved
100 %
with a system designed for partial load opera-
tion. The example portrayed for a heating system 90 %
shows that the peak capacity is needed only for
80 %
Heat requirement in kWh

a few hours during the year. In a system designed

for 15 to 25 % of the power requirement, it is pos- 70 %

sible to cover 50 to 70 % of the heat requirement. 60 %

Other applications must be analysed individually.
50 %

40 %

30 %
Available heat quantities.
Optimal waste heat recovery requires determina- 20 %

tion of the available heat quantity. This depends 10 %

on the usable temperature difference, the mass
0%
flow / volume flow, the time of availability and the
0 1.000 2.000 3.000 4.000 5.000 6.000 7.000
specific thermal capacity of the heat transfer me-
dium. Operating hours of the consumer per year

6
Properties of the aftercooler.
Function: Compressed medium flows through the cooler tubes
and cooling water flows around the tubes in the counterflow.
The louvre design of the tubes ensures effective thermal
transfer and minimal pressure loss.

Variants: permanently installed or removable tube bundles,

smooth or ribbed tubes, stainless steel for high gas tempera-
tures, copper / nickel for seawater.

Accessories:
• Cyclone separator
• Automatic condensate drain
• Flange and counter flange kits

With our design tool we can immediately offer you the optimal
heat exchanger for your system!

Technical data
Cooler connections Dimensions Weight
mm kg
Type Air Water A B C
Heat exchanger
AFN027 DN100 1¼" 900 133 670 28
AFN036 DN100 1¼" 900 139.7 670 34
AFN050 DN125 1¼" 1300 168.3 1100 84
AFN060 DN150 1¼" 1300 193.7 1100 105
AFN/ARS090 DN200 1¼" 1300 244.5 1100 143
ARN/ARS130 DN250 1½" 1300 27 1050 224
ARN/ARS170 DN300 2" 1300 323.6 1050 280
ARN/ARS200 DN350 2" 1300 355.6 1050 370
ARN/ARS250 DN350 DN65 1500 375 1100 400
ARN/ARS350 DN450 DN80 1500 450 1200 585
ARN/ARS450 DN500 DN100 1500 519 1100 690
ARN/ARS550 DN600 DN100 1500 570 1100 1020

Explanations of the type designation.

A F N 550

Flow capacity in m³/min with intake air at 25 °C, 60 % residual moisture, C

7 bar operating pressure and 120 °C cooler intake temperature
N = for standard conditions
Copper tubes, tube plates of normal steel, baffle plates for fixed
tube bundles of aluminium and of brass for removable tube bundles, B

cooler sleeves of normal steel

S = for temperatures > 200 °C
Tubes, tube plates and baffles of stainless steel, cooler sleeves of A
normal steel !

A = version entirely of stainless steel

C = for cooling with seawater
Tubes, tube plates, baffles and
cooler sleeves of copper / nickel
F = fixed tube bundle, R = removable tube bundle
A= cooler length (without flanges) in mm
AERZEN water / air cooler
B= flange width in mm
ARN removable tube bundle C= distance between the water connections in mm
The exact dimensions will be determined during the
AFN fixed tube bundle
configuration phase.

7
AERZEN. Compressor technology as a principle for success. In more than 45 subsidiaries around the world, more than
Aerzener Maschinenfabrik was established in 1864. In 1868 2,000 experienced employees are dedicated to progress in
we built Europe’s first positive displacement blower. In 1911 we compressor technology. Their technical competence, our
­
­introduced the first turbo blowers, in 1943 the first screw-type ­international network of experts and continuous feedback
compressors and in 2010 the first rotary lobe compressor units from our customers are the basis of our success. Products and
in the world. Innovations made by AERZEN continue to drive services from AERZEN set standards. When it comes to relia-
the development of compressor technology. Today AERZEN bility, long-term value and efficiency. Challenge us.
is one of the world’s major long-established manufacturers of
positive displacement blowers, rotary lobe compressors, ­rotary
piston gas meters, screw compressors and turbo blowers. And
in many areas of application an undisputed market leader.

Aerzener Maschinenfabrik GmbH

Reherweg 28 – 31855 Aerzen / Germany
Phone: +49 5154 81-0 – Fax: +49 5154 81-9191
[email protected] – www.aerzen.com